The Dajue Temple is a Buddhist temple located in the Haidian District of western Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It was founded in the 11th century, and the current temple dates to a reconstruction in the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

. It contains three main halls, a gate, a pagoda and various side halls.

History

According to a stela at the temple, Dajue Temple was first built in 1068 during the Liao Dynasty

Liao Dynasty

The Liao Dynasty , also known as the Khitan Empire was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper between 9071125...

 and called Qingshui (Clear Water) Temple, after a stream that ran through the temple grounds. It was later renamed Lingquan Temple, and after being rebuilt in 1428 during the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

, was given its present name, "Dajue Temple." The temple went through renovations in 1720 and 1747.

Layout

The temple is arranged on an east-west axis, and contains five main buildings. Beginning at the east is the main gate followed by the Mahavira hall, the Amitabha Hall, the Sarira pagoda

Pagoda

A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...

 and finally the Longwang Hall, a building originally used to store sutras

Sutra

Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...

.

Mahavira Hall

The Mahavira hall contains three large statues dating from the Ming Dynasty. The central one is of Sakyamuni, the left one is the Buddha of Medicine and right is Amitabha

Amitabha

Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...

. Behind these three statues, facing the back exit of the hall, is a statue of Samatabhadra. On each side of the hall are statues of twenty devas. On the wall behind these devas is a mural that dates from the Qing Dynasty. There is a large dragon carved into the ceiling.

Amitabha Hall

The Amitabha hall contains a large statue of Guanyin which is flanked by two Bodhisattva statues. Behind the statues, facing the back entrance, there is a Qing-era flying statue.

Sarira Pagoda

The Sarira pagoda contains the relics of the monk Jialing, who was abbot of the temple for a few years in the 1720s. It was built shortly after his death in 1728. The bottom part of the pagoda is an octagon, while the middle part is white and circular. The pagoda tapers out into a slender spire.